REVERE — The Revere football team didn’t want to start the season with three consecutive losses, and thanks to a full team effort and two clutch field goals by sophomore kicker Rayan Riazi the Patriots were able to knock-off previously unbeaten Lynn Classical, 19-16, in overtime at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
“This was a huge win for us, not just because of who we beat but because of how we beat them,” said Revere coach Lou Cicatelli. “We were down a couple of our best players tonight, we fell behind early, but we just kept fighting until the very end. It was a great team win for us.”
In addition to Riazi’s two field goals, which came from 33 and 30 yards, respectively, Revere got solid performances from quarterback Jonathan Murphy (4-for-4, 63 yards, one rush touchdown), and Lucas Barbosa (105 rushing yards, one touchdown).
For Classical, quarterback Keith Ridley completed 19-of-25 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Malcolm Best rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown,Nashaun Butler caught 8 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown and Maurice Sequeira caught six passes for 55 yards.
“I think we were just really inconsistent tonight on both sides of the ball,” said Classical coach Brian Vaughan. “It’s nothing that can’t be corrected, but we’re just going to have to go back, watch the tape and learn from this one.”
Classical got the ball to open the game and went on a four-minute, 65-yard drive that reached the red zone. But at that point, the Revere defense locked down and forced a turnover on downs.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Rams defense was on fire to open the game too. Classical forced Revere into a three-and-out and a punt, getting the ball back in Patriots territory with about four minutes left in the first quarter. The second Classical drive featured four pass completions by Ridley, the last of which was a 20-yard touchdown throw to Butler to draw first blood.
After getting pinned back at its own 16-yard line on the kickoff, Revere took just one play to change the complexion of the game. Murphy faked a handoff to McNeil, spun around and handed the ball to Barbosa in a jet sweep motion. Barbosa did the rest, taking it around the left side and racing 84 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown. The conversion was no good, however, and Classical still led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the Patriots go on a long drive of their own. After forcing Classical into a three-and-out, Revere got the ball back on its own 34 yard-line. Mainly behind the hard running of Barbosa and McNeil, the Patriots moved 66 yards. After a three-yard touchdown run by Murphy, the Patriots led 13-8 and Classical trailed for the first time this season.
After a scoreless third quarter on both sides, Classical was able to storm back and take a 14-13 lead after a 14-play, 78-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Best. Things weren’t looking so good for Revere at the time, as the Patriots subsequently forced into a three-and-out. After getting the ball back again with about four minutes left, the Patriots gave up a safety to make it 16-13 Classical.
But still, it wasn’t over. Revere ended up getting the ball back with under three minutes to go and drove down the field to put Riazi in position from 33 yards out with 42 seconds to play. After Classical tried to freeze him with a timeout, Riazi buried the kick and tied the game to send it to overtime.
In the overtime period, the Patriots ran the ball three times to get Riazi in position again, this time from 30 yards out. And once again, he came through, splitting the uprights to give Revere the lead.
Classical tried to keep the game going with a field goal of its own, but the kick was missed and Revere took home the win.
“We just gave him a new nickname at the end of the game, Rayan ‘Ice’ Riazi,” Cicatelli said. “He’s a great kid who has worked so hard on his game, and it really showed out there tonight.”
Next up for Revere (1-2) is a road game against Peabody next Friday night (7). Classical (2-1) will host Gloucester next Friday night (7).